As the population ages, chatbots are increasingly becoming vital tools for older adult learners, not only as platforms for sharing their life stories but also as resources for learning. These digital companions make learning more accessible and enable seniors to narrate their experiences. However, older adult learners often find it difficult to express their emotions during interactions with chatbots. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the potential roles that chatbots can play in engaging with older adult learners. In this study, we collected 190 conversation records from six elderly participants (three males and three females) with an average age of 69.5 years, who interacted with a chatbot over the course of a week using a mobile app. The results from all conversation with the chatbot revealed five patterns: shared life experiences, Q&A interactions, expressions of gratitude, emotional expressions, and ineffective responses. The findings suggest that due to their unfamiliarity with technology, older adult learners predominantly share life experiences (34.2%) and rarely express emotions (2.1%), underscoring chatbots as effective life listeners. Moreover, older adult learners appear to accept chatbots as learning resource providers, as shown by their frequent Q&A interactions (14.8%) and expressions of gratitude (12.6%). This study suggests developing specialized educational programs to help older adult learners how to effectively converse with chatbots, reinforcing their role as Life Listeners and expanding their function as Learning Resource Providers, thereby boosting seniors' participation and confidence in the digital society.

Authors:
Ya-Ling Wang, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
Yuchun Mao, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Mrs.Mao is a doctoral student in the Department of Adult & Continuing Education at National Taiwan Normal University.

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